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House Durrandon
House Durrandon of Storm's End is the house of the Storm Kings, and has ruled the Stormlands since the Age of Heroes and its foundation by Durran Godsgrief. Historically House Durrandon has been a dominant power in the east of Westeros, at times ruling lands stretching from the Dornish marches to the Claw. History The history of House Durrandon is long, and stretches back to the Age of Heroes. Much of it is preserved via oral tradition, and much is likewise lost to time. The Foundation of House Durrandon The Kingdom of the Storm begins in legend. Durran Godsgrief fell in love with Elenei, daughter of the gods of the Sea and the Wind. The gods forbade this love, but Durran and Elenei wed in spite of them. Their retribution would be swift and terrible, however. Durran built six keeps on the cliffs above Shipbreaker Bay, and six keeps would be sundered by terrible storms. The seventh keep, however, stood against the gods themselves. Storm's End became the home of House Durrandon, and never in the course of their reign has a hostile force subdued it. Age of Expansion King Durran Godsgrief was said to have ruled for one thousand years, but this is born of a tradition of the Storm Kings of old: naming their firstborn sons after the progenitor of their house. Durran Godsgrief, beyond constructing Storm's End, also proved an able conqueror. His most notable conquest was the Rainwood, from which he drove the Children of the Forest. His heir, Durran II, returned the Rainwood to the Children. This act of piety would be undone within a generation by Durran Bronze-Axe, who drove them out for good. Durran the Dour expanded Durrandon holdings further to the north with a victory in the Battle of the Crookwater, where he slew Lun the Last-- known as such because he was the last of the giants in the south. Durran the Ravenfriend expanded to the area known now as Massey's Hook, where he granted lands to House Massey and aided in the construction of Stonedance. The lands of Durran the Young expanded to the river Slayne, where his forces turned back a host lead by Yoren Yronwood and Wylla of Wyl. He became known as the Butcher Boy in some circles after it was said his host dammed the river with Dornish dead. King Durran the Fair wedded the daughter of King Edwyn Evenstar of Tarth, thus bringing the isle of Tarth peacefully into the Kingdom of the Storm. King Erich III Durrandon laid claim to the isle of Estermont and the neighboring lesser isles, bringing them into the Kingdom of the Storm and bringing security to the southern coast of the lands sworn to Storm's End. Durran X Durrandon conquered the Stormswood, adding all the lands between the Blackwater Rush and Storm's End to his domain. His heir, Monfryd "the Mighty" took all his father accomplished and put it to shame, conquering Duskendale and then Maidenpool on the banks of the Trident. Age of Decline Following the reign of Monfryd the Mighty, his son Durran XI began the process of losing the lands north of the Blackwater Rush that King Monfryd had conquered. This would not be completed until Barron I Durrandon lost the Blackwater Rush and lands to the south. Durwald the Fat saw Massey's Hook break away from the Kingdom of the Storm, revolts on Tarth and Estermont, and the occupation of the Rainwood by a witch that ruled there for a generation. Fortunately for House Durrandon, the decline was stayed by the efforts of Ronard Storm, the Bastard King. Ronard Storm usurped Storm's End in a bloodless coup, as the line of Durran XI was loved but little. Legend tells that Morden II's own wife crowned her husband's usurper. Ronard Storm ruled for thirty years, breaking several rebellions and taking wives from each house he defeated. Erich VII Durrandon made strong efforts to reconquer Massey's Hook while simultaneously defending against an invasion by King Olyvar Yronwood. While his efforts proved encouraging in an era of decline, they ignored a growing threat to the north: the Andal Invasion. His son, Qarlton the Conqueror, completed the conquest of Massey's Hook but lost it to House Bar Emmon within the year. The remainder of his rule would be spent dealing with the Andals. The Andal Invasion The entirety of the reigns of Qarlton II and Qarlton III were spent engaged in a bloody and protracted war with the Andal invaders. Neither side scored a winning blow against the other, however, until Qarlton III's son Monfryd V Durrandon defeated an alliance of seven Andal petty kings and warlords at the Battle of Bronzegate, though it cost him his own life. After the Andal conquest of a portion of Cape Wrath, Baldric I Durrandon schemed against the conquerors. In a cunning ploy, he drew the Andals into conflict with each other and saved the Rainwood from conquest. His son, Durran XXI Durrandon, sought out the Children of the Forest and formed the Weirwood Alliance. The allies scored three major victories at the Battle of the Black Bog, the Battle in the Misty Wood, and the Battle Beneath the Howling Hill. As the war ground on through the reign of still more Durrandon kings, more unlikely allies would need be sought out. Cleodan I Durrandon found them in the Dornish, and an alliance of Dornishmen and Stormlanders scored a great victory over the Andals on the banks of the river Slayne. At long last Maldon IV Durrandon saw that the war did not seem to be swaying to either faction, and took an Andal maiden to wife. This would be the first step to rapprochement with the Andals, and his son Durran XXIV Durrandon pushed this tradition of intermarriage. Over time, Andal warlords would swear their swords to Stormlanders and the war drew to a close with House Durrandon gaining many new vassals. King Ormund III Durrandon would take a major step in this transition by abandoning the Old Gods and beginning widespread practice of the Faith of the Seven in the Stormlands. Returning to Greatness After conciliation with the Andal invaders, the Kingdom of the Storm once again sought to expand. Arlan I Durrandon, known as "the Avenger", expanded the territories sworn to him back to the Blackwater in the north and as far as the headwaters of the Mander in the west. The Avenger's grandson, Arlan III, through an alliance with House Blackwood managed to conquer the majority of the Riverlands. For the first time, the Kingdom of the Storm laid claim to lands bordering the Sunset Sea. For three hundred years the crowned stag would rule over the Riverlands, until the reign of Arrec I Durrandon who lost them to House Hoare. King Arlan V Durrandon sought to reclaim the lands won by his namesake, but lost his life in the attempt. Arlan V Durrandon's son was known as Argilac Durrandon, known as the Arrogant. In his youth he turned back an invasion of Dornishmen, and twenty years later he personally slew King Garse VII Gardener in the Battle of Summerfield. It would be during his reign that Aegon Targaryen landed at the mouth of the Blackwater Rush and commenced with his failed conquest. Aegon's Conquest Argilac the Arrogant, fearing the expansion of House Hoare and their massive keep at Harrenhal, approached the Valyrian invader with the offer of his daughter's hand in marriage. Crucially, he insulted Aegon by offering lands owned by House Hoare as a dowry and thus was spurned. As the Conquest began in earnest, Argilac sallied out to meet the Targaryen host rather than being burnt alive in his keep like Harren Hoare and his sons. The resulting battle became known as the Last Storm, a moniker granted to it due to the savage storm that drifted in during the fight and grounded the Targaryen dragon Meraxes. A martial man, Argilac himself lead the vanguard against Orys Baratheon. Baratheon slew Argilac in single combat, however, reducing House Durrandon to one person: Argella Durrandon. Argella Durrandon crowned herself Storm Queen, but the garrison at Storm's End had also heard of the fates of Harren Hoare's garrison. The Storm Queen was stripped nude and chained up, delivered before the gates to Orys Baratheon. She was married to Orys, but there was little love between them: Orys treated her harshly, smarting from the wounds her father had dealt to him. Following the disastrous defeat on the Field of Valor, Orys Baratheon retreated to Storm's End. It would be here that House Baratheon, rather than House Durrandon, would be extinguished: Argella drew a blade across Orys Baratheon's throat as he slept, regaining her throne. Argella would marry Ser Boros Cole matrilineally, preserving the line of Durran Godsgrief. After the Conquest Failed King Edmund Gardener sought to exploit the weakness of House Durrandon in the immediate aftermath of the failed conquest. Invading from the west, the Gardener forces made swift gains in the southern and western reaches of the Kingdom of the Storm. Boros Cole, recently wed to the Storm Queen Argella, personally lead the effort to repel the Gardener invaders at Blackhaven. He died in the attempt. After the conclusion of the war Queen Argella died in childbirth, leaving her infant son Durran XXVII Durrandon in a very long regency rife with corruption and incompetence. The era following the Failed Conquest was unremarkable in the Stormlands. Several Storm Kings made efforts to bring the Greenbelt into the Kingdom of the Storm, either through invasion or marriage alliances with House Dayne, as during the reign of King Durran XXIX. Few if any efforts had been made to expand to the north or west until the reign of King Durran XXX Durrandon. During the War of the Trident, King Durran XXX mobilized the Stormlands while their neighbors in the Reach, the Claw, and the Dusklands found themselves embroiled in the greater war. In seven days the Durrandon host fought seven battles and won each, conquering all the Stormswood up to the Blackwater Rush and slaying the line of King Tristifer III Fletcher's brother. Across the great river, however, were more lands ripe for the taking. When the Durrandon host crossed the Blackwater Rush, King Darklyn bent the knee without a fight being too weary from war. Durran XXX smashed the Celtigars, prompting them to bend the knee as well-- thus reconquering lands that had been lost since the era of King Arlan V Durrandon. When the Gardeners learned of this, they marched to the Dusklands only to be met by the victorious Storm King. Gareth Gardener's host was smashed as well, driven from the field by heavy infantry. Lord Bulwer and Gareth Gardener perished in the fighting, and House Durrandon took possession of the Bulwer's ancestral Valyrian steel helm. King Durran, tickled by this new trinket, ordered the bull horns stripped from it and a pair of antlers attached in their place. Category:Stormlands Category:Kingdom of the Stormlands Category:House